Injuries are common to those participating in athletic activities. Some injuries are serious enough to completely prevent participation in a particular sport for some time. However, other injuries are more minor in nature, and an athlete may be allowed to participate in the sport while nursing the injury. In these situations where an injured athlete continues to participate in a sport, protective measures are often taken to prevent further injury to the athlete. To this end, athletes often wear various pads, braces, or restraints to prevent aggravation of an injury.
A shoulder injury is one common type of injury that may result from athletic activity. When an athlete injures his or her shoulder, various forms of shoulder pads, braces, restraints, and related protective measures are available to the athlete. Use of these protective measures may allow the athlete to continue to participate in a sport while the injury continues to heal.
One sport where shoulder injuries are common is in the sport of football. Many football players continue to play football while nursing a shoulder injury. Various protective measures are available to football players with shoulder injuries. For example, a common shoulder brace available to football players includes a belt worn about the chest of the player. With this brace, arm bands are connected to the chest belt. The arm bands restrict movement of the arms and shoulders, thus preventing the player from making an extreme arm movement that might aggravate the shoulder injury. Unfortunately, this type of shoulder brace that includes a chest strap may be uncomfortable for the player. In particular, when the player's heart rate increases, the chest belt may make breathing uncomfortable. When the belt is too tight around the chest, expansion of the chest is restricted, thus preventing the necessary heavy breathing needed to supply the athlete with proper amounts of oxygen. Furthermore, repeated expansion and contraction of the chest may loosen the belt or cause it to move on the chest, thus changing the degree of movement available to the athlete wearing the brace.
While not all shoulder braces include a chest belt, other shoulder braces present other problems for football players. For example, some shoulder braces are configured for use with a belt. These shoulder braces tend to ride up on the player's torso and/or create a wedge effect on the player's pants. Other shoulder braces are too restrictive and do not allow a necessary minimal degree of arm movement needed by the player, depending upon the position played. As another example, some shoulder braces are not compatible with football uniforms and pads, making the braces difficult or impossible to wear in conjunction with the required gear.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a shoulder brace designed in such a way that it is particularly useful for football players and other athletes. Such a shoulder brace would be compatible for use with football uniforms and pads. Such a shoulder brace would also be comfortable and would not restrict heavy breathing by the player. In addition, such a shoulder brace would provide the football player with significant degrees of shoulder movement, thus allowing the athlete to continue to play football with only the necessary restrictions.